If you want more focus and effectiveness, you can learn a lot from lions, says Martina Haas. In her book "The Lion Strategy" she transfers six recipes for success from the animal kingdom to everyday business life.
Lions sleep or snooze 20 hours a day. For author Martina Haas, this makes them a role model: "They get everything done that’s required in four hours a day," she writes in her book "The Lion Strategy".
The guidebook is not a new time management bible. Rather, it’s about focus and effectiveness in professional life: "Lions get the most out of every hour. They focus on the essentials and spend most of their energy on them," writes Haas. Whoever wants to be successful can learn a lot from them.
1. Lions get their message across clearly.
"Lions communicate more unambiguously than we do," writes Martina Haas. Their roar, audible for miles around, leaves no doubt as to who is in charge in the area. And no matter whether devoted purring, threatening growling, pawing for the brazen offspring: The message to the counterpart is clear.
"Lions are also strong in nonverbal communication," Haas finds. "Glances are enough to drive other animals away or show pack members boundaries."
What does that mean for everyday business life??
Plain language wins! Understandable language helps to avoid miscommunication. Haas also recommends active listening and asking smart questions as communication turbo-chargers.
2. Lions have a natural authority.
Not for nothing does the lion have the nickname "king of the beasts". "The lion is aware of his strength," writes Martina Haas, "he does not need theatrics." Their size, their majestic gait, their magnificent mane, all this underline the natural authority of the lion.
What does this mean for everyday business life?
Work on your charisma! According to entrepreneurial coach Stefan Merath, the authority of a boss depends on six factors. In an interview, he explains how entrepreneurs gain respect.
More authority turbos: dressing professionally makes you look more confident. Voice training helps entrepreneurs to come across confidently to their counterparts. And if you know how to use your body language consciously, you can provoke or entice your conversation partners, create a good atmosphere or spoil the mood – and always remain in control of the situation.
3. Lions have perfected teamwork.
"Lions have a clear hierarchy and distribution of tasks," writes Martina Haas. "The survival of the entire pride, especially the young, depends on each animal fulfilling its tasks. If the hunt requires three to take down a larger animal together, number 3 can’t lie down or chase after a smaller prey animal because that would be more comfortable."
But although the lions have perfected teamwork, it is still certain at all times who is the boss: the strongest male leads the pride. And this clarity is also essential for survival, as Haas emphasizes: "The interaction of lions in the hunt requires clear coordination in a matter of seconds and equally fast decisions."
What does this mean for the everyday life of an entrepreneur?
Make clear announcements! And use each employee according to his or her strengths! Coach Verena Baldinger gives tips on how bosses can properly manage top performers and weaker employees.
Other teamwork boosters: regular team discussions, well-prepared meetings and digital aids that promote teamwork, such as collaboration tools and instant messengers for companies.
4. Lions have their sights clearly set on their goal.
The leading lion of a pride has a very clear goal, explains Martina Haas: "To ensure the livelihood and continued existence of the pride."He subordinates everything to this goal.
What does that mean for everyday business life?
Learning to focus! Consultant Claudia Simon gives tips against getting bogged down – and explains which tasks you can eliminate.
Further focus turbos: A corporate mission statement created according to the visioning method describes success in the future as if it had already occurred. That motivates and helps you stay on track. Written corporate values can also be a valuable tool – if they can be brought to life. Here, entrepreneur Vanessa Weber shares how she used simple tools to embed her business philosophy within the company.
5. Lions adapt perfectly to difficult external conditions.
"Lions are able to live in inhospitable areas and endure hunger, great heat and thirst for a long time," writes Martina Haas. True survivors, in other words.
What does this mean for everyday business life??
Be adaptable! And willing to evolve! Digitalization is as dangerous for companies as hunger, heat and thirst are for living creatures: Those who don’t adapt won’t survive. Or, in the words of Bill Gates: "The Internet is like a wave: You either learn to swim on it, or you sink."For tips on how to take the first steps toward digitization, read our articles "Step by step to a digital company" and "11 digital tools that help you work faster and better right away".
Turbo for the further development of the company is an innovation-friendly, creative climate. Read here how to spot trends and encourage employee creativity.
6. Lions take advantage of opportunities and also take risks to do so.
"Since lions never know how long it may be before a new opportunity to prey presents itself, taking advantage of every little chance is a must," writes Martina Haas. "We would be more successful if we took advantage of the opportunities that come our way as consistently as lions do."
In addition, lions are willing to take high risks when hunting and defending their territory: Neither aggressive rivals nor the kicks of lashing zebras nor the horns of wildebeests dissuade them from their plans.
What does this mean for everyday business life?
Recognize opportunities! And courageously dare new things! A positive culture of mistakes is especially helpful for entrepreneurs here: if you are constantly afraid of making mistakes, you won’t try anything new. Here’s how to improve your company’s error culture in three steps.
Opportunity exploitation turbo: learning from other entrepreneurs, for example from Sven Franzen. He regularly sets himself tasks that exceed his competence. Here he explains how he manages to break out of his comfort zone. By the way, if you’re interested in the topic of error culture, you should attend the impulse conference "Learning from mistakes" on 30. Do not miss November!
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